Will Americans ever love Obamacare?

All through the Obama years, backers of the Affordable Care Act have lifted their spirits with a consistent refrain: Just you wait.

Someday, the law's backers insisted, Obamacare will make the transition from a divisive idea to a widely popular one, from a program that many people still find confusing and scary to a familiar and comforting part of American life.

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This weekend, which marks the third anniversary of the law’s passage, one thing remains clear: Someday has not yet arrived, and may not for a long time.

Even as the pitched ideological and legal battles have faded, a huge raft of complicated and potentially crippling practical challenges remain, raising questions about whether Obamacare ultimately will work and whether it will become the Rushmore-size achievement that President Barack Obama hopes for.

Even the law’s most enthusiastic backers concede the path forward is difficult.

“Sure, things aren’t going to be perfectly efficient the first day,” said Jay Angoff, a health care consultant who formerly ran the federal exchange office and who still remains optimistic that kinks will be worked out.

Here are five challenges that still confront the Affordable Care Act, even three years after it became the law of the land:

The money chase

The federal role in building the health insurance exchanges is bigger than expected — and money wasn’t set aside.

The Obama administration didn’t expect 33 states to refuse to build their own health insurance exchanges. When it asked Congress for another $1 billion for implementation, including money for the feds to build exchanges, the Republicans did not cut a check — and Democrats didn’t push much. The IRS didn’t have better luck asking for another $360 million for work on Obamacare tax provisions.

That’s a problem because although the law provides ample funding for state exchanges, it slotted just $1 billion for the feds to make it work. HHS hasn’t responded to questions from POLITICO about how much, if any, of that $1 billion is left or precisely how it’s cobbling together the rest of the money it needs to finish the job.

HHS keeps saying everything’s on track, but some Democrats are openly worried about how to pay for things like vastly complicated computer systems.

“Without IT infrastructure to process enrollments and payments, verify eligibility and establish call centers, health insurance for millions of Americans could be further delayed,” Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a recent floor speech criticizing the House for not ponying up more money.

Critics say the money problems could spell trouble.

“The massive uncertainty around their ability to pull this off is causing real problems,” said James Capretta, a vocal Obamacare critic and former budget official under President George W. Bush.